SW News: A cross that the late Pope Benedict XVI bequeathed to his home parish in his native town of Bavaria in Germany after his retirement in 2013 has been stolen from the church where it was on display.
The pectoral cross was taken from a display case on the wall of the Traunstein town church by unidentified assailants on Monday, according to a statement from the state criminal police office of Bavaria.
Police said cash was also stolen from the cash register in the church. Authorities are also asking people who saw suspicious persons near the church of St. Oswald on Monday or who can provide other clues to come forward to help the inquiry. The public prosecutor's office in Traunstein is leading the investigation.
Pope Benedict XVI was born as Joseph Ratzinger at Marktl am Inn, a tiny village in Bavaria. At the age of two, his father relocated the family to Traunstein where he attended the seminary. The late pontiff had celebrated his first service as a newly ordained pastor in St. Oswald in 1951. After the renovation in 2020, the cross was on display in the church.